Obama’s $100M plan to map the human brain

The White House is set to announce a $100 million effort to map the human brain in hopes of discovering new ways to treat Alzheimer's, epilepsy and other brain injuries and diseases.

President Barack Obama's announcement, set for 9:55 a.m. in the East Room of the White House, is the formal unveiling of a project the president promised in the State of the Union.

"Now is not the time to gut these job-creating investments in science and innovation," Obama said in the speech. "Now is the time to reach a level of research and development not seen since the height of the Space Race."

The BRAIN (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies) Initiative is funded by about $100 million in the president's 2014 budget, which will be unveiled later this month. The National Institutes of Health plan to spend about $40 million, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency plans to spend $50 million and the National Science Foundation $20 million.

Four private foundations and institutions have also pledged to support the BRAIN Initiative's work.